Author: timmacbride

Celebrating God’s presence – part 2 (Psalm 24)

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Yesterday we began our quick look at Psalm 24, an entrance liturgy which Israel sang as she entered God’s presence. We, too, can use it to focus our minds on the God in whose presence we always are. He is firstly the Creator God, who is worthy of worship because he created the world, and everything in it (v1-2).

Drawing near to the God who is holy

The second part of the psalm begins in verse 3. It functions as a “song of ascent” in which worshippers ascend Zion, God’s holy mountain. It’s in the form of a ritual question-and-answer between worshippers and priest, and talks of the requirements of entering into God’s presence.

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Celebrating God’s presence – part 1 (Psalm 24)

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We finished our series through 1 Cor 1-4 yesterday, and will begin something new on Monday. (I like starting at the beginning of the week.) So today and tomorrow we’ll have our first edition of “Psalm putty” – we’ll look at Psalm 24 to fill in the gap until the end of the week. This is a psalm all about celebrating the presence of God. Read the Psalm now – it’s only 10 verses.
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Choose unity (1 Cor 4:14-21)

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As we come to the final instalment of our look at 1 Cor 1-4, Paul presents a choice. Will the Corinthian church – and will we – choose division or unity?

(If this is your first visit to the site, you might want to start from the beginning of our 1 Corinthians series a few weeks ago, or wait until tomorrow when we start something new.)

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An antidote to pride (1 Cor 4:6-13)

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Nearing the end of our series through 1 Cor 1-4, Paul has begun to apply to the Corinthians more directly what he’s been saying thus far about worldly judgements and dividing over leaders. In fact, in today’s passage he makes it explicit:

4:6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.

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The last word on worldly judgements (1 Cor 3:18-4:5)

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At the start of each day I’ve been summarising the content of 1 Corinthians so far, so we can keep the flow of argument before us. Thankfully, Paul has already done this for us as we come to chapter 4:

3:18-23 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

In other words, stop bringing worldly judgements about leaders (or anything else) into the church: God’s wisdom is of a different order. All leaders belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God – we’re all on the same team. (So get along! Remember the theme-statement of the letter, in 1:10.)

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Building God’s church – part 2 (1 Cor 3:14-17)

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Yesterday, we saw how we have a choice of materials with which to build God’s church: perishable materials (relying on human effort) or imperishable materials (relying on the power of G0d). Today, Paul ends with a warning for those who seek to build God’s church.He says our work will be tested when Jesus returns. Like fire tests a building. Then we’ll see how we have built God’s church. Because only that built with imperishable materials will survive into eternity.

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Building God’s church – part 1 (1 Cor 3:10-13)

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Over the last two days we’ve seen how it’s foolish to divide over leaders: they are simply God’s servants who are on the same team, with different roles that work toward the same goal. That goal is the building of God’s church, described by Paul as both a “field” being farmed and a building being constructed.

In the next section he expands on this, warning all those who labour in the church that it is God’s church (not ours) – so be careful how you build it.

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Leaders are God’s servants (1 Cor 3:1-5)

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So far in our series through 1 Cor 1-4 we’ve seen how the Corinthians were divided over leaders. Over the next few days, we’ll see how Paul shows this behaviour to be utterly foolish. In fact, it’s immature. They think they’re being spiritual, but the fact that they’re divided shows how worldly they still are. They’re still judging others by the values of the world, not God’s values:

3:1-4 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

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